Customers

Here are the questions filed under this category. To read Ken's advice on any item, click on the link "Read Ken's Answer."

I am an independent contractor and I was in the process lining up a project with a rapidly-growing company. My contact person was smart, organized, and supportive. Unfortunately, she had to turn my project over to an individual who is impossible to deal with. He won't return calls, he cancels meetings at the last minute, and he has all but shelved the project. What do you suggest?
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A sales rep and I were making a presentation when our customer raised a pretty basic question. My associate said that I had just asked the same question and it was easy to answer. I never asked this question, since anyone who works here knows the answer. This made me look like a fool. It took all my power not to blurt something out on the spot, but I waited until we were in the car and then told him to never do that again. He told me that I'm overreacting and he was just building a bond with the customer. What do you say?
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We are in sales and our company has a very grumpy receptionist who answers the phones. She is short with the callers, always in a huff, and by the time the call gets to us, the caller is upset. We have mentioned this to the receptionist's supervisor and even to management, but their attitude is that she is doing just fine. What can we do about this?
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I work on the sales floor, and I had an excellent record here until a problem occurred with a very difficult customer last week. He was nasty and insulting, and I was not very nice in response. He wrote a letter to my manager and to the owner of the company complaining about me, and my manager read the riot act to me. Does this seem fair?
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I work in a shop as a volunteer. People come in and bother us, staying for hours, waiting to see if someone brings a donation that they want. They try to get it before anyone else can have a chance to look at it, and before it is even checked out and priced. Our manager says, "The buyer is always right." These people have become friendly with the manager, stay as long as they want, and nothing is said. What should we do?
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I work for a large company in the customer relations department, and I receive many complaints from angry customers. Some of the callers become extremely irate and resort to verbal abuse and profanity. Our company policy is to continue the call even if it becomes a personal threat. Failure to adhere to this policy can result in disciplinary action, including termination. What do you suggest?
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We have some customers who bother the waitresses. I don't know if it is harassment or not, but their comments are often off-color and offensive. We told our manager about this, and he said that the customers are just being friendly and we should be nice to them. Does this sound right?
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As part of my job, I handle customer complaints. Sometimes the callers are very upset, and I have not had any formal training in how to deal with them. Can you give me some pointers?
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I work in a transportation reservation department. We deal with irate customers only and were told that if a complaint letter is received and our name is mentioned, we would be terminated. Now we are terrified and come to work each day stressed and worried that we could lose our jobs. Does management have the right to address an entire department this way and threaten jobs?
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Is there a point where I should stop leaving messages for a sales prospect to call me? I have called him several times but never get anywhere. If I get him on the phone, he says he's busy and will call me back, but he never does. If I leave a message on his voice mail, I never hear from him.
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I have been an administrative assistant at this company for many years, and until recently I shared an office with another assistant who moved away. Her replacement is a very difficult person who talks on the phone all the time and is rude to everyone here, including customers. I have spoken to her manager, but she refuses to do anything about her. What should I do now?
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I work in a customer service call center, and one of the customers got nasty with me. I did not like his tone or language, and I said so. He snapped back, so I hung up on him. He called back and told my supervisor, and I ended up being disciplined and having the incident placed in my file. Does this seem fair?
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We have a small customer service department that handles sales calls from around the country. One of the sales reps has been getting more than her share of customer complaints. We have counseled her, but she always has an excuse. It takes a few months to train a new sales rep, and we donít want to terminate her, at least not yet. What other steps do you suggest?
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Hello. I apologize in advance for the long story. I work in an animal supply store and get many questions from customers about how to care of a specific animal, and this can take close to 30 minutes in certain cases, often jumping from customer to customer to make sure everyone is taken care of. My position includes but is not limited to working the cash desk,pricing merchandise, stocking shelves, sometimes answering the phone, and all cleaning. There are a total of three women sales associates, one full time, one part-time, and one summer student. Sometimes the floor manager can help. This place gets very busy because we happen to be the only good store that is actually knowledgeable about what we are doing for a great distance.
I have received complaints from the floor manager, indirectly from my boss/the business owner, about how I am taking too long helping customers with their inquires and threatened with a writeup. I am literally being written up because I was doing my job while being away from the cash desk. WTF!? I'm sorry for language, but this is the first thing that comes to mind. Please help me figure out what to do. I don't know how to deal with bosses who conflict themselves. Read Ken's Answer